smelly Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Sens' flight makes emergency landing TSN.ca Staff 5/2/2003 The Ottawa Senators got a big scare en route back to the nation's capital Thursday night. The team's charter flight was forced to turn around and make an emergency landing back in Philadelphia after an engine blew out three minutes into their trip home. No one on the plane was hurt in the incident. The team planned to take another plane back to Ottawa Thursday night. The Senators were on the way home after a 1-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal. The team split the two games in Philadelphia, with the series now tied at two wins apiece. Game 5 is Saturday afternoon at the Corel Centre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHICO IS GOD Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Damn, that's scary. Glad nothing happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nieuwy25 Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Woah! That'll wake you up! I'm glad they landed okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Someday it's going to happen, a sports team's plane will crash.. I don't even want to imagine it. Glad the Senators were able to land safely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nieuwy25 Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 It has happened - to college teams, and an Olympic (US) skating team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aylbert Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Not to sound harsh... but my mind must inquire... What would happen to the playoffs if that happened... Its just a game... but would the opposing team get a bye? I cant see them canceling the playoffs that season (they couldnt afford to do so)... I hope I never find out to be honest... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeakoftheDevil(s) Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Triumph, I have thought about that too. It will happen someday. Its just a law of averages. However you would think that these chartered planes have a better maintainence program then the planes we regular folks get pushed on. Especially since chartered planes arent used like "ski taxi's" the way commercial airliners are. With thousands of flights logged each year on each plane. And it does leave you to wonder what course of action a league would implement as a result of such a travesty. It's not morbid or harsh to wonder, its curiousity. I'm quite certain eachmajor sport league has had to think of this possibility, and probably has some guidelines of what to do if such occured. Pure speculation here, but I'd imagine in this case Philly would get a bye....or perhaps cancel the post season altogether. If this was a regular season, there might be a long pause in the season and perhaps a "expansion" type draft would occur. If not then, certainly over the offseason. It's interesting, but something I hope we all never see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilsrule33 Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 I don't even want to know what would ever happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Engine failure isn't something to get all scared about, happens more then you think. I had a bad dream the other day about the Devil's charter going down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevsRock Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Engine failure isn't something to get all scared about, happens more then you think. True enough, it does. Happened to me flying back from Europe. The scariest part was the hour it took the plane to return to the airport. The landing was smooth and normal, except for the 100 or so fire engines and ambulances they had ready. Ah well, it hasn't kept me from flying so it's all good. As for what would have happened to the playoffs...who knows, too scary to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyk Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 However you would think that these chartered planes have a better maintainence program then the planes we regular folks get pushed on. Especially since chartered planes arent used like "ski taxi's" the way commercial airliners are. With thousands of flights logged each year on each plane. Actually, charter planes usually get less attention than mainline aircraft. Charter companies can't always afford their own maintenance crew and farm it out to a 3rd party vendor, which is sometimes a regular airline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msweet Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Someday it's going to happen, a sports team's plane will crash.. I don't even want to imagine it. Glad the Senators were able to land safely. I've thought the same thing for years. Thank G-d they landed safely. Now if had been the Ranger$..... No just kidding. Never want that to ever happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-Man Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 I'm quite certain each major sport league has had to think of this possibility, and probably has some guidelines of what to do if such occured. ESPN had a series of articles about this a while ago. Each team has a contingency plan in case this happens. I think all of the leagues were very hesitant to talk about specifics though. The NFL just said "we do have something in place, but we won't talk about it." Touchy subject, to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-Man Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Here's the article.... 'God forbid it should ever be needed' http://espn.go.com/gen/s/2001/0328/1163463.html By Wayne Drehs ESPN.com It's a question that many have thought about, but few have actually asked. It's one of those thoughts that bounces around in your head, yet common sense and decency prevents from becoming audible. It is this: In the event of an air disaster, or some other catastrophic event involving a professional sports team, what would happen? How would a team rebuild? Could it rebuild? Understandably, it's a sensitive topic that the major four professional sports leagues don't like to talk about. But the question remains. Especially in the aftermath of the air tragedy that rocked the Oklahoma State campus last January and a handful of in-flight scares involving professional teams. "It certainly isn't one of our favorite topics," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "There are definitely some other things we'd rather be talking about," said Frank Brown of the NHL. Luckily, no professional sports team has ever suffered a catastrophic plane crash. There have been close calls, such as in 1960, when a plane carrying the Minneapolis Lakers made an emergency landing in an Iowa cornfield. But nothing catastrophic has ever happened. In the event that a team disaster ever did occur, each of the four major professional sports leagues has a contingency plan, built around some sort of "disaster draft" designed to restock the team in the event of a tragedy. Some, like Major League Baseball, remain tight-lipped about its plan, tabbing it "confidential." "All I can say is that, yes, we have a plan," MLB spokesman Richard Levin said. "But God forbid it should ever be needed." Others, like the NBA and NFL are more open about their disaster plan. In fact, the NFL will go as far as to provide a faxed copy upon request. Headed under "Administrative/Business Operations," the NFL policy has extensive nuts-and-bolts instructions for replenishing a team in the event of a "disaster" or "near-disaster." The NFL plan refers to a near disaster as a common accident in which a team loses fewer than 15 players. A disaster occurs when more than 15 players are lost. In the NBA, a disaster occurs in which five or more players die or are dismembered. Similar to the NFL, the NBA plan calls for a disaster draft, in which each team would protect five players and the disaster team then would build a team from the remaining pool of talent. "It enables the effected franchise to rehab itself to whatever extent is possible under such difficult circumstances," said Mike Broeker, a spokesman for the NBA. In the NFL, teams suffering a near disaster would be required to play out the season, though they would have priority on all waiver claims. If the team lost a quarterback, it would be permitted to draft a quarterback from a team that has a third quarterback. In a disaster (15 or more lost players), the NFL's commissioner would decide whether or not to continue the team's season. If it were to continue, the near-disaster plan would go into effect. If not, a restocking draft would take place in the offseason. In addition, the team would get the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft. "There are always these drafts, these mechanisms by which teams can protect a certain number of players and yet the other team can rebuild itself," Brown said. "But it's sort of an uncomfortable topic." Somehow, professional sports teams have managed to avoid the air tragedies that have hit collegiate sports. The worst incident happened in 1970, when 37 members of the Marshall football team were killed in a crash. A month earlier, the Wichita State football team lost 14 players in a crash. In 1977, the University of Evansville lost 14 players on its basketball team. That was the last significant air crash involving a U.S. collegiate sports team until the Oklahoma State crash this past January. The lack of an incident involving a pro sports team doesn't mean professionals have flown worry-free. Just last February, a tire on the San Jose Shark's charter flight, leaving Dallas for St. Louis, exploded on takeoff, severing the plane's hydraulic systems. The pilot was forced to manually turn around, lower the landing gear, and brake without power assistance. "That wasn't funny," Sharks coach Darryl Sutter told the San Jose Mercury News. "We were just thankful for having an experienced pilot." In 1995, the president of Front Page Tours, a company that leases charters to 15-20 professional sports teams, flew on a flight from Washington to Chicago to ease the concerns of several Chicago Bulls following a pair of turbulent flights. In one case, the Bulls' cabin de-pressurized due to rapid descent, requiring the players to use oxygen masks. In another, a sharp banking turn was required upon takeoff, rattling several players. And in 1998, the St. Louis Blues had a close call when their TWA charter plane needed several attempts to land at Detroit Metropolitan Airport because of strong crosswinds. "That was the toughest landing I've ever seen as far as rocking and rolling," Blues general manager Larry Pleau said at the time. "I was in the front of the plane and the pilot's door was open. I could see the lights of the runway, and then the runway would disappear. We were going from side to side." It was yet another case of a pro sports team relying on good luck in a terrifying situation. Luckily, the plane landed safely like every other one ever has. But if it ever doesn't, each of the four pro sports leagues is quietly ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeakoftheDevil(s) Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Thanks Zman. The article is perfect for this discussion. I had never read that before, it was interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Leeds Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Someday it's going to happen, a sports team's plane will crash. Remember George Costanza on Seinfeld saying that to Hernandez? Manchester United in the '50's suffered a bad crash. The US Olympic Boxing Team in poland around the early '80's. Some prominent boxers were killed, and other missed it. I remember about 10 years ago the Vancouver Canucks were on the runway at LAX and they witnessed right out their windows a smaller plane, like a 20 passenger plane, crash into another plane resulting in a lot of carnage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizDevil30 Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Everyone knock on wood, quickly! I just got a sick feeling in my stomach. (It could be the danish I just ate, but to be on the safe side, knock anyway.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zamode Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Glad to hear they are alright. I don't care how big and burly you are, that kind of experience has to rattle you. I hope we never have to find out but as mentioned, there have been enough cases, whether you knew of them or not that already brought tragedy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek21 Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Thank God they landed safely. If that ever happened, it would be a disaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHICO IS GOD Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 Just remember they'd be no safer on a bus or train even though you might have more control over the object. And without planes, you forget seeing any west coast/northwest teams come to our area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zamode Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 That's true, Birthday Boy but I think--and this isn't a pleasant thought--but teams in the West have to travel more by air because of the vast distance between teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHICO IS GOD Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 LOL, birthday boy thinks Clarke is behind this all. Just kidding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Devil Posted May 2, 2003 Share Posted May 2, 2003 When I was an aircrewman in the Navy, we would routinely turn off engines in-flight to conserve fuel. IOW, its not that serious a situation as long as nothing else is damaged. Its more of a precaution to land it early than a safety hazard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilsrule33 Posted May 3, 2003 Share Posted May 3, 2003 Jimmy I was thinking the same thing about the Keith Hernandez episode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackjack Posted May 3, 2003 Share Posted May 3, 2003 I can remember reading that statistically it not only should have happened by now, but it should have happened more than once, and that pro sports teams are really beating the odds. That's a sobering thought to say the least. As for jet safety, the commercial jets we fly in are the safest in the world. Trust me, nothing in the air is safer. A single crash today would put the entire airline out of business, and the Federal Regulations for maintance hours and inspections are unbelievably rigid. For comparison, I know someone that was a crew cheif on Marine helicopters, he told me how the maintance crews had to cannibalize parts because the choppers are so old that new parts aren't even available anymore. Also, because of the high number of pilots, and low number of machines, they have to fly almost constantly for the pilots to fill their monthly quotas. The guy I know had already lost a classmate to a crash by the time he left the Air Wing less than a year after he had joined it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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